You are eligible to apply for the MA African Studies if you have a bachelor’s degree from a research university in the field of African Studies, African Languages and Cultures, Linguistics, History, Cultural Anthropology, Literature, Sociology, Political Sciences, Public Administration, International Studies, or other studies related to the Humanities or Social Sciences. Furthermore students must have sufficient knowledge on (topics related to) Africa, which, as a rule of thumb, is evident by having obtained at least 30 EC on relevant BA courses and/or a thesis.

Students with a Bachelor in African Studies from Leiden University are directly eligible for admission and can apply in Studielink. There is no need to submit an application for admission using the online application portal.

If you have a bachelor’s degree from a research university that does not meet the requirements specified above, you may be eligible for a pre-master’s programme tailored to your individual background. After submitting your application in Studielink, the Board of Admissions will decide whether you can be directly admitted to the master’s programme, whether you will first need to complete a pre-master’s programme, or whether your deficiencies are considered too extensive and you can therefore not be admitted at all. It is not possible to directly apply for a pre-master’s programme. 

The LDE Minor African Dynamics is considered a valid pre-master for the MA African Studies.

The language requirements for a pre-master's programme are identical to the language requirements for the master's programme for which admission has been requested. These requirements must be met before the start of the premaster.

Once you have completed the imposed pre-master’s programme, you will be admitted to the master’s programme. For more information about the individual pre-master’s programme, please contact the Study adviser.

For students with a bachelor’s degree at a university of applied sciences in the field of humanities and/or social sciences, equivalent to the level of a Dutch hbo bachelor’s degree, the Board of Admissions may impose a pre-master’s programme, tailored to the individual background of the prospective student, to be completed before admission to the MA programme.

The following requirements apply*: 

• IELTS Academic modules only, on paper or on computer: 6.5 overall, with at least 6.0 for each separate component score.
  • We do not accept IELTS Academic online.
  • We do not accept IELTS General Training, IELTS Indicator, or IELTS One Skill Retake
• TOEFL internet based: 90 overall, with at least 20 for each separate component.
  • We are not able to accept The TOEFL IBT Home Edition™, except in the following situation only:
    You are unable to take an in-person test on location because test centres are inaccessible or closed due to unsafe conditions in a country.
  • We do not accept the following types of test: TOEFL My Best™ scores (multiple test scores combined), TOEFL Essentials™  or institutional tests such as ITP.

• Cambridge English Exam C2 Proficiency, or C1 Advanced (180), with a minimum score of 169 for each separate component.

Note that English test results may not be more than two years old and must be obtained in one single test.

*You do not have to submit an English proficiency test if you have completed your education in the USA, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada (except French-taught programmes in Canada) Singapore, South-Africa or Malta; or if you have obtained an English-taught International Baccalaureate™; or if you have completed a Dutch VWO diploma or an English-taught bachelor at a Dutch research university or (for September intake) a diploma of an English-taught higher professional education (hbo) programme completed at a Dutch university of applied sciences.

For detailed information, including exemption criteria and methods of submission, refer to English language proficiency.